“Interesting theory,” Voss replies coldly. “You’ll have ample opportunity to present it at your hearing.” She turns to the officers. “Escort Dr. Ashford to her quarters and post a guard. No communications, no access to research equipment.”
As they lead me out, I catch a glimpse of my research being systematically downloaded—years of work, months of discoveries, weeks of secrets—all now in Haven’s Heart’s possession. Including the encrypted files comparing Kael’s DNA with my own, files that reveal the truth I’ve barely begun to accept myself: that somewhere in my ancestry lies Storm Eagle blood, dormant for generations until awakened by proximity to Kael.
In my quarters, the door locks with a definitive click. I sink onto my bed, mind racing through options that grow more limited by the minute. Transport to Haven’s Heart will arrive within days. Once there, I’ll face a military tribunal that will view my actions as treason, not scientific integrity.
Worse, the genetic information I’ve discovered will be weaponized against Kael and his people. The bioweapons Voss mentioned would target the specific magical pathways thatmake Storm Eagles who they are. It would be extinction, not warfare.
I have to warn him. But how? I’m confined to quarters, under guard, with no access to communications.
A soft tapping at my window interrupts my spiral of despair. I look up to see Zara perched on the narrow ledge outside, her bronze-gold hair blowing in the pre-dawn breeze. My breath catches—she’s taking an enormous risk coming here. If Haven’s Heart security spots a Storm Eagle this close to the settlement…
I move quickly to the window, opening it just enough for us to speak. “Zara! What are you doing here?”
“Kael sent me to check on you,” she whispers. “He felt something was wrong through the mate bond.” Her golden eyes, so like her brother’s, scan my face with concern. “What’s happened?”
“Haven’s Heart knows about my research—about Kael’s blood sample. They’re developing bioweapons targeting Storm Eagle genetics.” The words tumble out in an urgent whisper. “They’re sending me back to Haven’s Heart for a tribunal. I’ll be gone within days.”
Zara’s expression hardens. “Then we need to get you out now.”
“I’m under guard,” I explain. “And even if I could escape, where would I go? Haven’s Heart would hunt me down. I know too much.”
“You’d come with me, of course,” she says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “To the aerie.”
The idea is so outlandish I almost laugh. “To the Storm Eagle stronghold? The very people I’ve been researching as potential weaknesses? Half your clan would want me dead on sight.”
“Not all of us share Viktor’s hatred of ground-dwellers,” Zara counters. “And you saved my life. That counts for something, even among the traditionalists.”
I shake my head, though the temptation to flee with her is stronger than I want to admit. “I can’t just disappear. Haven’s Heart would assume Storm Eagle abduction. It would only escalate tensions.”
“Staying means your research will be used to destroy us,” Zara argues. “Kael needs to know what they’re planning.”
She’s right, of course. The information I possess could save the Storm Eagles—or doom them, depending on who controls it. And there’s the evidence about my own heritage, evidence that could change everything about how I understand myself.
“I need to destroy my research first,” I say, decision crystallizing. “Or at least the most dangerous parts. The files they downloaded contain enough information to develop their bioweapons.”
“Can you access your terminal remotely?”
I nod. “My tablet is synchronized. If I can get to it, I might be able to corrupt specific data files before they’re fully analyzed.”
Zara glances over her shoulder at the lightening sky. “I need to go before dawn breaks. Be ready tonight, after midnight. Kael will come for you.”
My heart leaps at his name, even as my rational mind rebels against the recklessness of such a plan. “The settlement is guarded. He can’t just fly in?—”
“He’ll find a way,” Zara says with absolute confidence. “Just be ready.” She prepares to leave, then hesitates. “Elena… he hasn’t been the same since you. Whatever’s between you—it’s changing him. Changing all of us, maybe.”
Before I can respond, she drops from the ledge. A moment later, a bronze eagle soars upward, quickly disappearing against the pre-dawn sky.
I close the window, mind racing. Escape with Kael would mean abandoning everything—my career, my identity, myworld. Becoming, in the eyes of Haven’s Heart, the very traitor they already suspect me to be.
But staying means watching my research become the instrument of genocide. It means betraying Kael, betraying the truth I’ve discovered about Storm Eagle genetics, and betraying whatever dormant heritage stirs within my own blood.
I spend the morning in a state of tense calculation, weighing options, planning contingencies. The guard outside my door changes shifts at regular intervals. Meals are delivered on a strict schedule. My tablet remains in the lab, presumably being analyzed along with everything else. Without it, I can’t access my terminal to corrupt the research files.
Around midday, an unexpected visitor arrives: my brother, Marcus. The security officer admits him without question—as Haven’s Heart Military Research Liaison, his authority here is second only to Director Voss herself.
“Elena.” His voice is strained as the door closes behind him. His military uniform is impeccable as always, but his face shows the strain of recent travel. “What have you done?”
I rise to face him. “Hello, Marcus. I see they’ve called in the family connection.”
